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The Connecticut River. 



«^ «S^ «^ ?i^ 

IMPORTANCE OF 

A OPENING IT TO 

NAVIGATION .... 

From Hartford, Conn., 
To Holyoke, Mass. . . 



With Report of 

SMITH S. LEACH, 

Major U. S. Engineer Corps. 

fe^ «^ fe^ %^ 



THE CONNECTICUT RIVER t RQ5^ 
NAVIGATION ASSOCIATION. yOyQ* 



THE 



CONNECTICUT RIVER. 

IMPORTANCE OF 

Opening it to Navigation 

FROM 

Hartford, Conn., to Holyoke, Mass. 



report of smith s. leach, major u. s. engineer corps. 

SURVEY OF RIVER, WITH METHODS AND 
PROBABLE COST OF IMPROVEMENTS. . . 



Prepared by the Ways and Means Committee 

OF THE 

Connecticut River Navigation Association. 



PRESS OF 

SPRINGFIELD PRINTING AND BINDING CO. 

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 



1898. 



^-^^ 



0' 






A' 3 3 ^^ 



Connecticut River Navigation Association, 



Preside7%t. 
OSCAR S. GREENLEAF. 

Vice-Presidents. 
Henry H. Bowman, William W. McClknch, 

A. H. Overman, Charles E. Hoag, 

O. H. Merrick, George E. Hill. 

Secretary, Charles H, Cram. Treasurer, Wm. A. Webster. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

Allen Webster, Chairman. 
James A. Bill, Jr. J. C. Worcester, 

Horace C. Carter, George A. Denison. 



WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE. 

Hon. Henry S. Dickinson, Chairman. 

C. A. Crocker, Vice-Chairman. 

W. A. Webster, Secretary. 

H. H. Bowman, Col. A. H. Goetting, C. C. Lewis, 

E. M. Ezekiel, Charles R. Trask, F. W. Dickinson, 

O. H. Merrick, A. W. Esleeck, Ethan Brooks, 

T. C. Page, A. R. Leete, G. A. Denison. 

Edwin A. Carter, Treasurer for the Committee. 



necessity for making 
The Connecticut River Navigable. 

Experience has demonstrated that the whole country 
is benefited whenever intercourse between its parts is facili- 
tated, and its busy industrial and trade centers are brought 

importance of ""^'^^''^ ®^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^er. So well is this 
Waterways. ^^^* estabhshed that it has become the settled policy 
of Congress to aid in every way in the increase of 
connecting lines of railroad and waterways, in order that 
the greatest freedom of transportation may exist between 
producers and consumers in all parts of the country. Fur- 
thermore it has been demonstrated that it is essential to 
this freedom of transportation that where it is possible the 
inland waterways of the country be made navigable high- 
ways open to anyone who will use them to carry the prod- 
ucts of industry where they are needed. Open waterways 
cheapen the cost of transportation and keep it from monop- 
olistic control ; they develop and multiply industries and 
increase wealth and population and magnify the commer- 
cial importance of the regions they open to the world, and 
so of the country at large. All this is axiomatic but so im- 
portant in its bearing on the future welfare of our country 
that the conclusion reached by the committee of the Senate 
m 1885, of which Senator Cullom of Illinois was chairman, 
that "the manifest destiny of our country" demands "the 
emancipation of the waters," is amply justified. 

These general considerations apply with unusual force 
to the emancipation of the Connecticut River from the rocks 
and shoals which impede its channel, because there is press- 
mgneed that this river be made a navigable waterway from 
Holyoke to the Sound. Not only every general considera- 
tion but especial arguments in plenty support the necessity 
for this improvement. This waterway is a necessity be- 
cause of the area, population, and commercial importance 
of the region to be benefited thereby. It is needed because 
of the inadequate and unsatisfactory transportation facili- 
ties upon which the business of this region now depends, 
and it is amply warranted by the size and importance of 
the river to be improved, and by the comparatively small 



6 

expense of the improvement, as shown by the report of 
Major Leach, of the United States Engineer Corps, hereto 
appended. The appropriation required to establish this 
waterway from Holyoke to Hartford will be amply justi- 
fied by the annual saving in freights alone to the commer- 
cial interest to be thus served. 

Four states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hamp- 
shire, and Vermont, are to be generally benefited by this 
improvement, with the coal producing states and New 
Area to be York, which is the principal market for the region 
Benefited. through which the Connecticut flows, but more di- 
Population rectly a region included in Northern Connecticut 
and Valuation, and Western Massachusetts, with an area of about 
3,500 square miles, a population of more than half a million, 
and a property valuation — not including Hartford — of 
over $500,000,000, The benefit to Hartford of the opening 
of the Connecticut to Holyoke is obvious, but because 
Hartford has already river navigation it is left out of the 
estimate of territory to be directly benefited by this pro- 
posed improvement. It may be well to note in passing that 
at present Hartford has a population of 80,000. Its assessed 
valuation Jan. 1, 1898, was $61,830,000. 

More definite statistics can be given concerning those 
cities and towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut imme- 
diately bordering upon the river ; the cities of Springfield, 
Holyoke, and Chicopee, and the town of West Springfield in 
Massachusetts, and the towns of Thompsonville and Wind- 
sor Locks in Connecticut. The population of these three 
Massachusetts cities and one town, above named, is 122,800, 
and the assessed valuation of taxable property, $111,653,203. 
The population of Windsor Locks, census of 1890, was 3,000, 
and of Thompsonville, not including the whole of Enfield, 
by the same census, 5,000. The assessed valuation of these 
two towns in 1897 was $6,074,576. This makes the total 
population of the most important towns and cities in 
Massachusetts and Connecticut directly bordering upon 
that section of the river to be improved, above Hartford, 
130,800, and the total assessed valuation of property, $117,- 
726,779. Were it necessary similar data could be cited con- 
cerning the larger area which would be as really but less 
directly benefited by this proposed improvement, but as 
these further data would afford only cumulative evidence 



of the importance and necessity of opening the river it is 
not worth while to give them. 

As proving the commercial importance of the cities and 
towns above mentioned the following statistics of manu- 
factures are important. The Massachusetts Bureau of 
Statistics of Labor has supplied the following state- 
Commercial uients of the value of stock used and of goods made 
Statistics. .^^ ^j^^ ^^^^ ^ggg .^ Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, 
and West Springfield, in Massachusetts. These statistics 
are taken from an unpublished part of the Massachusetts 
census of 1895. 

Value of Stock Used. Value of Goods Made. 

Chicopee, $2,938,115 $6,667,650 

Holyoke, 12,255,556 22,781,228 

Springfield, 8,436,384 16,569,228 

West Springfield, 920,357 1,365,428 

Total, $24,550,412 $47,363,534 

The United States Census of 1890 does not give statistics 
of manufactures for cities and towns of less than twenty 
thousand inhabitants, and, therefore, does not give such 
statistics for Chicopee and West Springfield, but does for 
Holyoke and Springfield. For both cities the totals for 1890 
are larger than for 1895, as follows : — 

Raw Material. Finished Product. 

Springfield, $7,817,534 $17,040,629 

Holyoke, 13,570,788 26,060,315 



Total,- $21,388,322 $43,100,944 

The output and material used at the United States 
Armory at Springfield is not included in either of the above 
tables. 

The year 1890 was much more nearly a normal year for 
business than was 1895, when there were protracted shut 
downs and periods of partial production among the paper 
and cotton mills and other large industries, especially in 
Holyoke. The output of Chicopee and West Springfield in 
1890 was proportionately as much larger than the output of 
the same places in 1895 as was the 1890 output of Holyoke 
and Springfield larger than that of 1895. It is safe, there- 
fore, to affirm that the average annual output of the manu- 
factories in the Massachusetts cities and towns we are 



8 

considering is not less than $50,000,000 in value, and practi- 
cally all of this large output is shipped elsewhere for con- 
sumption. It is to be regretted that this output cannot be 
given in pounds and tons or the weight of the raw material, 
but the data are not obtainable. An estimate fairly accurate 
can be made of the tonnage output of the Holyoke paper 
mills, which is, approximately, 90,000 tons yearly, and of the 
raw material, which is, approximately, 130,000 tons. The 
tonnage of cotton used by the mills at Chicopee and Holyoke 
can only be estimated at 20,000 tons annually. 

The location of the United States Armory at Springfield 
is an important reason for opening the Connecticut River to 
navigation. Here is the principal depot for storing small 

arms and for manufacturing the same and it is em- 
United States 
. mently desirable that the access to it should be as 

Spring-field. ^^^^ ^^ possible. The other important government 
works of similar kind have water communication 
and the Armory at Springfield should not be an exception. 

Similar statistics of manufacturing can only be approxi- 
mately given concerning Windsor Locks and Thompson- 
ville. There are no such sources of information as the 
Massachusetts and National Censuses afford. Estimates 
have been made as carefully as possible after extensive in- 
quiry among manufacturers of these towns with the fol- 
lowing results. The year taken is 1897, from January 1 to 
December 1 : The estimated output of manufactured goods 
in Windsor Locks was $2,600,000 ; and of raw material used, 
$1,460,000. For Thompsonville the estimates of values are 
manufactured goods, $3,335,000 ; raw material used, $2,041,- 
000. 

Adding these estimates to the Massachusetts values and 
we have for value of manufactured goods in these river 
towns, $53,298,528 ; raw material used, $28,051,412. 

The freight tonnage in and out of the locality under con- 
sideration is another certain indication of its commercial 
importance. There has been obtained from the railroads 
entering Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, and West 
naee Springfield, a statement of their total freight ton- 

nage for the year ending June 30, 1897. The total 
inward tonnage received by these railroads was 1,305,104 
tons, and there were forwarded 516,330 tons, a total of 
1,829,434 tons of in and out freight. The freight tonnage of 



Thompsonville and Windsor Locks can only be estimated, 
but it is undoubtedly more than sufficient to make the 
aggregate tonnage of this river region more than 2,000,000 
tons annually. With the exception of the estimated ton- 
nage of Windsor Locks and Thompsonville, the figures 
given are official, and come to us by courtesy of the railroad 
managers. They do not include the freight transferred 
from one road to another in transit to points on the line of 
the receiving road, but they are a transcript of the books at 
the freight houses in the towns and cities mentioned, and 
give only the actual tonnage of freight received and shipped 
from those freight houses. 

Major Leach, in his report, estimates that at least 25 

per cent., or 500,000 tons, of this freight would probably be 

transported by water were the Connecticut a navigable 

highway ; but railroad men put the percentage 

^^ '^ somewhat higher, at 40 per cent. From such author- 

tonnaee. ities, who are at least competent and not inclined to 

exaggerate the probable amount of water tonnage, 
comes an estimate of nearly 700,000 tons, or, averaging the 
estimates received, 683,893 tons which would probably be 
transported by water, were such transportation possible. 
This estimate does not include the probable water tonnage 
of Thompsonville and Windsor Locks, and the country 
tributary to these towns, which would bring the total up to 
nearly, if not quite, 800,000 tons. 

No effort has been made to analyze this freight tonnage 
and indicate the proportions of the several staples included 
therein, but an approximately successful attempt was made 

Coal Tonnasre *^ obtain the tonnage of coal brought into these 
cities and tov/ns in Massachusetts in the year ending 
October 1st, 1897. This estimate of coal tonnage has been 
made up from reports from dealers, which give the number 
of tons each has received, from brokers, which give the 
number of tons sold to consumers directly, and from con- 
sumers themselves who have bought directly from the mines 
or their agents. These data have been compared with ex- 
pert estimates and with such information as could be ob- 
tained from the railroads, and it is believed that they are 
substantially accurate. Not including the coal brought by 
the railroads for their own use there are at least 450,000 tons 
of coal of all kinds brought into these cities and towns in 



10 

Massachusetts above mentioned annually and the quantity 
is increasing every year. The returns received for the year 
ending October 1st, 1897, give 447,000 tons as the total coal 
receipts. We have in addition the report of one railroad 
company which brings 200,000 tons for use on their own 
lines annually, all of which would come by water were the 
river open. The coal tonnage of the other roads, for their 
own use, is at least as great as that of the single road re- 
ferred to. Of this 447,000 tons of coal — which does not 
include coal for railroad use — 70 per cent, could better 
come by water than by rail, and in addition a large percent- 
age of the coal for the railroads would probably come the 
same way. 

The existing facilities for transportation in and out of 
the locality under consideration are inadequate and unsatis- 
factory and this vast tonnage of freight is not handled as 
conveniently or cheaply as it would be were the 
transportation ^^^^^^^7 ^^^ which we ask opened. To the most 
facilities. important markets, New York especially, and to 
the South generally, there is but one highway and 
that is over the line of the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford railroad. In accordance with the prevailing ten- 
dency to consolidation this corporation has gradually ab- 
sorbed all its competitors until it now has exclusive control 
of transportation in southern New England, including Mas- 
sachusetts south of the line of the Boston and Albany. 
Under these conditions the merchants and manufacturers 
of these Connecticut valley cities and towns are compelled 
to put up with such accommodations and pay such rates 
on southern transportation, including coal tonnage, as this 
corporation chooses to give them. These accommodations 
are inadequate and unsatisfactory and the rates are too 
high, and this is especially true of the towns below Spring- 
field, which are wholly dependent on this corporation for 
transportation in any direction. Competition in transpor- 
tation is possible in no other way but by opening the Con- 
necticut River, because a parallel railroad is out of the 
question and if any other railroad route were opened to the 
south it would soon become part of the existing monopoly. 
Open the river and monopoly of transportation becomes 
impossible ; open the river and competition becomes inevi- 
table^and permanent ; open the river and freight rates to 



11 

every part of the region to which it is accessible will cer- 
tainly fall and thereafter maintain a permanently lower 
level. 

The report of the Cullom committee on Interstate Com- 
merce, presented to the Senate in 1885, says that water 
routes are "the most efficient cheapeners and regulators of 
railway charges. Competition between railroads 
Cullom Cera- sQQner or later leads to combination or consolida- 
ter Routes. tion, but neither can prevail to secure unreasonable 
rates in the face of direct competition with natural 
or artificial waterways." Such waterways " must continue 
to exercise in the future as they have invariably exercised 
in the past, an absolutely controlling and beneficially regu- 
lating influence upon the charges made upon any and all 
means of transit." Furthermore this committee says that 
" this influence is not confined within the limits of the ter- 
ritory immediately accessible to water communication, but 
extends further, and controls railroad rates at such remote 
and interior points as have lines reaching means of trans- 
port by water." The general arguments for opening the 
Connecticut River to Holyoke could not be better stated or 
more convincingly put. 

Major Leach estimates the cost of opening the Connec- 
ticut to Holyoke at about $2,000,000, but this sum is inade- 
quate to represent the wealth which Massachusetts and 
Connecticut would gain by that improvement. The 
Cost of Im- cheap, convenient, and unlimited means of transpor- 
tation which this waterway would bring would in- 
evitably attract m.anufactures and population. The section 
to be immediately benefited by this proposed waterway has 
now every advantage for business and residence with this 
one exception of inadequate transportation facilities, and 
with this want supplied would be second to none in the 
United States. 

But if there were no increase in population or manufac- 
turing following the opening of the river, and the volume 
of business in the locality to be directly benefited thereby 
remains a,t a standstill, even then this proposed im- 
Saving: in Coal provement will pay for itself in a few years in the 
^ * saving in freights alone. Take coal freights, for 

I instance. We may safely assume that 70 per cent, of the 
coal brought into Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, and West 



1» 

Springfield will come by water if the river be opened, and 
that all coal will be brought cheaper than it now is because 
of water competition. Taking 70 per cent., or 350,000 tons, 
as the quantity of coal to be directly affected by water 
transportation, and basing the estimate of saving on the 
difference in price of coal between Springfield and Hart- 
ford now existing, and allowing for the cost of the addi- 
tional thirty miles of water haul, and it appears that there 
would easily be an average saving of 50 cents a ton on the 
prevailing price of coal to the consumer in the cities and 
towns just mentioned, which would mean an aggregate 
annual saving of $175,000. This estimate is well within 
the probabilities because the difference in the price of stove 
and furnace coal to small consumers between Springfield 
and Hartford is usually $1.00 per ton. The difference in the 
wholesale and retail price of coal between Hartford and 
Springfield is entirely a matter of freight charges because 
four-fifths of the coal brought to Hartford comes by water 
and the railroads meet the water rates on the other fifth. 
If the saving on coal freights to Thompsonville and Windsor 
Locks be included, at least $30,000 must be added to the 
above estimate of total saving, and then this estimate would 
be incomplete because it does not include the saving from the 
general reduction in coal rates by rail which would inevi- 
tably follow the opening of the proposed waterway. But 
assuming that the total saving in freights of all kinds, for 
the sake of the argument at this point, were only $200,000 
per year, the total cost of the improvement would be saved 
in 10 years. 

Incidentally, the saving in cost of coal to small con- 
sumers is worth noting, because this saving would be en- 
joyed by those who need it most, the wage-earners and 
persons of small income. In Springfield and Hol- 
Savlng to yoke there were in 1895, according to the Massachu- 
Small Con- ^^^^^ Census of that year, about 20,000 families, and 
of these families approximately 15,000 buy their coal 
at retail in small quantities of from four to ten tons annually. 
Granting a saving of only 50 cents a ton, and an average 
consumption of six tons each yearly, or 90,000 tons in all, 
and we have a total of $45,000 added to the wealth of peo- 
ple of moderate incomes alone. Seventy-five cents a ton 
would be a fairer estimate of this probable saving,but accept- 



13 

ing the 50 cent basis and adding the probable saving to this 
class of coal consumers in Chicopee, West Springfield, and 
the Connecticut towns of Windsor Locks and Thompson- 
villa, and we would have a total of at least $75,000 annually, 
which is nearly enough to pay the interest at 4 per cent, on 
the amount which Major Leach thinks will be sufficient to 
carry out the improvement he recommends. 

This saving in coal freight does not by any means ex- 
haust the possibilities of saving on freights in general. To 
establish water communication from Holyoke to the Sound 
would cause a reduction of rates on freights of all 
freleWs in kinds, from any direction, into and out of this local- 
g-eneral. ^^Y- '^^^ 2,000,000 of tons which are brought and 

carried annually would be transported at a con- 
siderably lower rate than is now paid. An accurate esti- 
mate of this entire saving in freights for the locality under 
consideration, which would follow the opening of the Con- 
necticut to navigation, can hardly be expected, but estimates 
which are wholly within the probabilities can easily be 
made. A comparison of actual differences known to exist 
between rail and water rates to points which have water 
competition and rail rates to points having no water com- 
petition, gives a sufficient basis for such an estimate, as, for 
instance, comparing freight rates from New York to Hart- 
ford, and from New York to Springfield. 

In general, it is true that freight rates to Hartford are 
materially less than to Springfield in spite of the consider- 
able railroad competition which the latter city enjoys, and 
this difference in rates is greater than can be accounted for 
by the additional haul of twenty-five miles. One example 
may be cited : The water rate on groceries and provisions 
of all kinds, regardless of their weight and bulk, to Hart- 
ford from New York, was, in the summer of 1897, ten cents 
per hundred weight, while the rail rate to Springfield on 
the same groceries, at the same time, was from fourteen to 
twenty cents per hundred weight according to classification. 
Here is a saving of from four to ten cents per hundred 
weight ; but suppose that instead of a saving as large as this 
the average saving on water freights to Springfield and 
Holyoke was but three cents a hundred, and that only 40 
per cent, of the total of this freight tonnage were affected 
thereby, we should have a total annual saving of $480,000, — 



14 

three cents per hundred on 800,000 tons. A saving of two 
cents per hundred, or forty cents a ton, would mean a total 
of $330,000 annually, and this estimate is certainly low 
enough. It is impossible to make a reasonable estimate of 
the probable total savings in freight brought into and carried 
out of this locality in the event of the river being opened, 
which can be stated in less than six figures, and which will 
fall below 10 per cent, of the estimated cost of the proposed 
waterway from Hartford to Holyoke. 

In commercial importance the locality under considera- 
tion will compare favorably with more than a majority of 
the regions which have received from Congress the gift of 
Comparison an open waterway or harbor. If we omit to take 
with otlier into account the deep water harbors which have 
and similar been improved by Congress, and confine our attention 
Improvements. |-Q ii;iiand waterways, we shall find it to be true that 
very few indeed of such waterways are better deserving of 
improvement than the Connecticut River. A study of the 
annual report of the Chief of Engineers, in any year, will 
show that there are less than a dozen of public improvements, 
of the kind we are considering, now under his charge, which 
promise as great benefits to the sections in which they are 
located as this proposed improvement of the Connecticut 
River will certainly bring to Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts. The number of improvements of navigation now 
under process of completion and provided for, which are 
more important than this proposed Connecticut River im- 
provement, is even smaller than above indicated. Omitting 
the great rivers of the country, — the Mississippi, Ohio, Mis- 
souri, and streams of comparatively equal importance, — 
and it is doubtful if any more pressing necessity exists in 
any part of the country for an open waterway than through 
this portion of the Connecticut valley. 

It is worth v/hile to compare some of the streams and 
rivers, for the improvement of which Congress has liber- 
ally provided, and the commercial importance of the sec- 
tions through which they flow, with the Connecticut and 
the region immediately accessible to that portion of this 
river which it is proposed to improve. In this comparison 
no account need be taken of the smaller waterways in com- 
paratively sparsely settled regions upon which the traffic at 
best can be but small, but examples have been taken where 



15 

existing conditions were somevvhat analogous to those in 
the Connecticut valley. Principal attention has been paid 
to the size of the appropriation made to carry out the im- 
provement, and the results intended to be accomplished 
thereby. 

It is undoubtedly desirable that a free ship channel 
should be maintained from Wilmington, N. C, through the 
Cape Fear River over Brunswick shoals to the ocean. Wil- 
Cape Fear mington has, in this way, been made a seaport of 
River below importance and the whole region round about has 
Wilmington, been benefited and enriched. Congress has been 
"' ^' appropriating money for this improvement almost 

■ continuously since 1853, and there has been expended up to 
June 30th, 1895, $2,909,221 to improve a stretch of river 
twenty-six miles long, through a comparatively unsettled 
country. The population of Wilmington in 1890 was 20,- 
056; in 1880 it was 17,350, while the total tonnage of that 
port was in 1895, 618,054, which is materially less than the 
probable water tonnage of the Connecticut River region 
we have been considering. So fa,r as appears, the total 
value of this tonnage from Wilmington, in 1895, was 
estimated at $31,493,000, which is much less than half 
the estimated value of the probable water tonnage from 
Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee, Massachusetts, if the 
Connecticut be opened. It costs in the neighborhood of 
$25,000 annually to maintain this Cape Fear River channel, 
and before this channel can be made permanent at a depth 
of eighteen or twenty feet, another appropriation of con- 
siderable amount must be made and expended. 

In 1887 the United States purchased from the State of 
Ohio all the dams, locks, and other improvements of naviga- 
tion in the Muskingum River, which that state had provided. 
There are now in that river, all in the State of Ohio, 
Musking-um repaired or erected by the United States, 11 dams 
River, 10. ^^^ -^2 locks, and navigation is maintained as far as 
Zanesville, about 75 miles from the mouth of the river. It 
has cost to June 30th, 1895, SI. Ij 5,019 to establish this 
navigation, and it cost in 1895, $17,v'77 to maintain the locks 
and canals and operate the former ; there is in addition an 
annual cost of a few thousand dollars to keep the channel 
open. The total commerce on the Muskingum River in 1895 
was 86,795 tons, and 38,267 passengers. The population of 



16 

the three Ohio counties principally benefited by this water- 
way is about 114,000, and this population has increased but 
very little since 1880. Further appropriations are declared 
by the engineers in charge of this improvement to be neces- 
sary before the upper section of this river, from Zanesville 
to the Ohio canal, can be considered navigable, and in order 
to keep the channel open below Zanesville. 

The "Wabash River, below Vincennes, Ind., has already 

absorbed, up to June 30th, 1896, $678,967, and the 
Wabash River ' c ? ? ? ? 

* tonnage is so inconsiderable that it is not mentioned 

in the engineer's report. 

The Kentucky River from the Ohio to Oregon, Kentucky, 

has had expended upon it, up to June 30th, 1896, $1,438,441 

to make a channel, never more than 6 feet in depth and 

often from 4 to 5 feet. There have been built 5 

Kentucky locks and dams in the lower section of the river, 99 

^t^' J^ miles, and the engineers report that 7 more, not yet 

provided for, to cost $2,400,000, are imperatively 
needed if the river is to be made navigable, even for 
light draft boats. It cost to maintain these locks and dams, 
and to keep the river open through the navigation season 
of 1895, $67,677, and it is estimated that the average annual 
cost of such maintenance will not be far from the above 
amount. The total tonnage on the entire Kentucky River 
for the year ending in June, 1896, was 269,386 tons ; for the 
17 years since Congress first made an appropriation for the 
improvement of this river the total tonnage has been, or is 
estimated at, 4,363,598 tons, or an average of 256,682 tons a 
year. The country through which the Kentucky River flows 
is neither as populous, as wealthy, as full of important manu- 
facturing and other industries, nor of as great consequence 
commercially as is the locality immediately accessible to 
the Connecticut River. It is not at all probable that the 
money saving or the increase in convenience and ease of 
transportation enjoyed by the business interests along the 
course of the Kentucky River, will approach in magnitude 
the analogous benefit which would follow the opening of 
the Connecticut River to navigation to Holyoke. What is 
true of the Kentucky River region is true of the Muskingum 
River, the Cape Fear River, and the Wabash River regions. 
They are neither of them localities of equal commercial 
importance with the Connecticut valley, and neither of 



The Great 



17 

them need increased facilities for transportation to as great 
a degree. 

One other comparison, which is taken from a report 
made to the Land and Harbor Commissioners of Massachu- 
setts, by Mr. Jonathan Barnes of Springfield : " The Great 

Kanawha River, next to the Ohio the largest river in 
„ West Virginia, is about four hundred and fifty miles 

River loiig^ s-nd about the size of the Connecticut. The 

largest place on this river is Charleston, the capital 
of "West Virginia, with a population of 6,700. Prior to the 
government appropriation on this river, the portion now 
navigable consisted of a number of pools separated by 
shoals on which the depth was very small at low water. 
The commerce, such as it was, consisting mainly of logs, 
timber rafts, and coal barges, was sent down at high water, 
and navigation was almost suspended during the summer. 
The object of the improvement has been to create a navi- 
gable depth of six feet throughout to a point about ninety 
miles above the mouth of the river. This has necessitated 
the construction of ten dams, the lowest of which is only one 
and three-quarter miles above the mouth, and the highest 
about eighty-five miles from the same point. Congress 
has appropriated for improving the navigation of this river 
the sum of $3,935,200, of which $605, 700 has been appropriated 
since 1890. The justification for the appropriation for this 
and other West Virginia streams is, of course, that they 
flow through the coal region. It is certainly a fair question 
whether the rights of the coal consumers are not equal to 
those of the coal producers. If it is considered wise to 
expend such large sums to facilitate the transportation of 
coal from the mines, is it not equally wise to facilitate its 
transportation into those districts where it is largely con- 
sumed ?" 

Every consideration, therefore, supports the demand and 
demonstrates the necessity of this proposed improvement in 
the Connecticut River. The importance of the business and 

commercial interests to be served, the inadequacy of 
" ^^' present means of transportation, the control of the 
southern outlet by a single railroad corporation, and the 
certain increase of wealth and population which would 
follow this great addition to transportation facilities, com- 
bined or singly, make a convincing and unanswerable argu- 
ment in favor of an appropriation to this end from Congress. 



EEPORT OF 

MA J. SMITH S. LEACH, U. S. ENGINEER CORPS, REC- 
OMMENDING THE OPENING OF THE CONNECTICUT 
RIVER FROM HARTFORD TO HOLYOKE. 

Survey of Connecticut River Between Hartford, Conn., 
and Holyoke, Mass. 

United States Engineer Office. 

New London, Conn., November 13, 1897. 

General — I have the honor to submit the following report 
upon a " survey of the Connecticut River between Holyoke 
and the foot of Enfield rapids," made pursuant to the re- 
quirements of the river and harbor act of June 3, 1896. 
Under date of July 13, 1896, the chief of engineers assigned 
this survey to Major H. M. Adams, and directed that the 
expenditures — not to exceed $2,000 — be paid from the un- 
expended balance of the appropriation of 1880 for " improv- 
ing the Connecticut River between Hartford and Holyoke." 
In August, 1896, the work was transferred to me by order 
of the chief of engineers. 

The part of the Connecticut River between Hartford 
and Holyoke has been the subject of very elaborate surveys 
and of an exhaustive study based thereon, having in view 
the development of a plan of improvement. The 
Previous surveys alluded to were made in 1871-1874, were 

urveys. under the direction of General G. K. Warren, corps 

of engineers, and were conducted by General Theodore G. 
Ellis, civil engineer. The results of the surveys and of the 
studies based thereon are published in full in the report of 
the chief of engineers, 1878, pages 248-301, and in house 
Ex. Doc. No. 101, Forty-fifth Congress, second session. The 
character of the survey and the detail with which the re- 
sults are recorded made it unnecessary to do more in the way 
of field work than to ascertain whether the conditions re- 
main the same, and, if not, to determine what the changes 
have been. The part of the river designated in the act 



19 

consists of two stretches of somewhat diverse characteris- 
tics. From Holyoke to Enfield dam, a distance of eighteen 
miles, the stream has in the main an erosible bed, while 
from the dam to the foot of the rapids, the lower limit of 
the authorized survey, the bed is in rock or other material 
practically non-erosible. As changes could be the result of 
erosion only, the search for them was limited to the upper 
stretch. This was sounded, and shore lines re-run between 
October 6 and 21, 1896, by a party in charge of Assistant 
Engineer H. B. Gorham. The results are shown on three 
sheets of the maps herewith, Nos. 4, 5, and 6 of the serial 
notation. For the rapids the results of the Ellis survey 
have been wholly relied upon. The fullest use has been 
made of General Ellis's results, and much physical data of 
value have been drawn from the report of testimony taken 
by the examiner in the case of Holyoke Water Power Com- 
pany versus Connecticut River Company in which the effect 
of a constrained flow is fully canvassed by Mr. Clemens 
Herschell and other experts. 

Though not included in the authorized survey, it was found 
necessary to include in the study for improvement the por- 
tion of the river between the foot of Enfield rapids and 
Hartford. This portion is obstructed by shifting sand bars, 
and has doubtless changed since the previous survey. Such 
changes as have occurred will not, however, have any 
particular bearing upon the feasibility or cost of improve- 
ment. Hence the results of the old survey have been as- 
sumed to represent present conditions and are shown on 
plates 1, 2, and 3 herewith. 

The portion of the Connecticut River between Holyoke 
and Hartford is thirty-four miles in length. At Holyoke 
navigation is interrupted by a dam for the development of 

DescriDtion of P*^^^®^' which has no provision for passing vessels. 

I^iygj.^ As already intimated, this portion of the river is 

divided into three stretches by the different physical 
characteristics of its bed. The first stretch, extending from 
Holyoke to Enfield dam, eighteen miles, presents a trace of 
moderate and regular curvature. The width between the 
bank lines varies from 650 to 2,100 feet, but the prevailing 
width is between extremes of 800 and 1,200 feet. The un- 
usual figure of 2,100 feet is to be found only at Long- 
meadow, fifteen miles from Holyoke, where, for more than 



20 

a mile, the width is quite uniform, and more than double the 
normal. The bed and channel of the stream are coincident 
at all usual stages, including freshets of frequent recurrence. 
At an extreme freshet there is a scanty, alluvial plain, sub- 
ject to overflow, limited, generally speaking, to Long- 
meadow and the lower valleys of the Chicopee and Aga- 
wam rivers, the only important tributaries. The limits of 
actual overflow are recorded, but it is not possible to dis- 
tinguish between the effect of backwater from the Connec- 
ticut and the flood plain of the tributary. 

Except at the upper and lower ends of this stretch, where 
the bed is rock, the bottom is composed of sand and gravel, 
with some admixture of mud below Springfield. The dis- 
position of the erosible material is in bars or shoals with in- 
tervening pools, but the bars are relatively stable in position 
and form, and appear to represent a substantial equilibrium 
of the forces developed by variation of width, curvature, 
and volume. 

The natural regimen of this part of the stream is a mat- 
ter of conjecture only. All available data of depth and 
velocity have been taken since the construction of Enfield 
dam. An inspection of the profile on plate seven herewith, 
based on plate five of General Ellis's report, indicates that 
before the construction of Enfield dam the head of the rap- 
ids was at Longmeadow bar, three miles above, which 
formed a natural dam with but three or four feet lower 
crest. Under the present artificial conditions the prevailing 
channel depth is nine feet or more, except at two points, 
Longmeadow and mouth of Chicopee River, where there 
are four and three feet at low water respectively. The 
discharge varies from 4,000 to 200,000 cubic feet per second, 
giving an oscillation from extreme low to extreme high 
water of twenty-eight feet at the foot of Holyoke falls, and 
sixteen feet immediatelj^ above Enfield dam. The maximum 
depth of flow over the crest of the dam is about twelve feet. 

The second or middle stretch of river, as above classified, 
extends from Enfield dam five and one-half miles and is 
known as the Enfield rapids, a name which gives a fair idea 
Enfleld of its character. The bed is of rock, rough and irreg- 

Rapids. ular, the slope is steep and variable, the banks bluff, 

and mainly of rock. The total fall depends upon the stage 
of water ; but its maximum at extreme low stage probably 



21 

does not exceed thirty-three feet, though it has not been 
actually measured. This portion of river is approximately 
straight in trace, and except at one point near the middle, 
where the channel divides into two branches with a consid- 
erable island between, the banks are regular and parallel. 
The conditions of discharge are the same as noted for the 
first section, except that at low water an appreciable pro- 
portion of the entire flow is diverted through a lateral canal 
on the west bank. At low water open navigation over this 
section is impossible, by reason of deficient depth. At higher 
stages the depth is sufficient, and the velocity is not so great 
as to prevent navigation, although it would make it impracti- 
cable for any craft not propelled by power. The maximum 
mean velocity at extreme flood does not exceed seven miles 
per hour. 

The canal above referred to is the property of a corpora- 
tion known as the Connecticut River Company. A descrip- 
tion of the canal in 1872 and its history up to that time are 
to be found in the report of the chief of engineers for 1878, 
part 1, pages 274, 275. The rights and responsibilities of 
the Connecticut River Company appear to be determined 
by the following extracts from its original charter, given 
in the report of the chief of engineers above cited : — 

That the said corporation, for the purpose of widening the chan- 
nel of said river and deepening the same, shall have power to dig, 
cleanse, and scour obstructions from the channels and banks of said 
river from and above the bridge at Hartford to Springfield, 

and to erect and build wharves, and piers, and hedges in 
Windsor ... .. i , ^u \ j Ji. -a 

, . said river or on the banks thereoi ; and the said corpora- 

tion are empowered to lock the falls at Enfield, on said river, 
and to make channels to aid them, and to construct a canal on either 
bank of said river near said falls, and to construct a dam, or dams, 
for the purpose of entering or leaving the locks in still water : Pro- 
vided, The extension and form thereof shall be such as shall not pre- 
vent the convenient passage of boats and lumber down the river, 
nor obstruct the passage of fish. 

Three sworn commissioners were provided for in the act, 
" under whose direction the necessary canal shall be laid 
out, and who shall inspect the construction of the locks and 
dams in said river, and cause them to be so constructed 
that they shall not impede the progress of fish up the river, 



22 

or the passage of floating boats, timber, or any other prop- 
erty down the river." The commissioners were empowered 
to suspend the taking of tolls whenever they found the 
locks out of repair or improperly tended. No penalty other 
than forfeiture of the right to take tolls appears to attach 
to the failure of the company to maintain navigation 
through its canal or elsewhere. It is permitted, but not 
required, to improve navigation ; but it is required to so 
construct its works as to permit navigation down the river, 
and the passage of fish up stream. 

At the present time, as indicated by a casual inspection 
made during a trip through the canal, the entire work is in 
a fairly serviceable condition, with the exception of the 
lowest lock, which needs rebuilding of the side walls. It 
may be said generally that the Connecticut River Company's 
canal is navigable to the extent of its dimensions. Such 
boating as these dimensions permit is not navigation in the 
present significance of the word, and no feasible alterations 
of the company's canal will make it so. 

To meet its charter requirements of a navigable pass 
and fishway in its dam, the Connecticut River Company 
left an opening 150 feet wide in the middle of the dam when 
first built. At the date of General Ellis's survey that gap 
had been partly filled by periodic deposits of stone until 
its crest was but l^^feet lower than the adjacent parts of the 
dam. Since that time additional deposits appear to have 
been made in the gap, though a slight depression remains. 
As a net result of all work done on the dam since 1854, the ex- 
treme low w^ater at Springfield appears to have been raised 
some two feet. No provision has been made for the pass- 
age of boats or fish in consequence of the closure of the gap. 
The third stretch of river extends from the foot of 
Enfield rapids to Hartford, a distance of ten miles. This 
portion is of moderate slope, with slight but regular curva- 
River below ture, and a fairly uniform width of 1,500 feet. The 
Enfield Rap- bed and banks are of sand and gravel. The banks 
ids. are generally overflowed at ordinary flood stages. 

The alluvial plain is one-third of a mile to a mile in 
width, and the channel of the river lies nearly in the middle 
of it. The characteristic of this part of the river is the 
shifting nature of the sand bars or shoals which obstruct it. 
They extend obliquely across the river, giving a maximum 



23 



length and minimum depth of overfall in passing from one 
pool to the next below. 

In this stretch of river there were at the date of the old 
survey five bars giving depth at low water of from two to 
three feet. The low-water slope of this reach is six inches 
to the mile ; the high-water slope is recorded as slightly 
less, though as such relation is abnormal for this situation, 
it is probable that there is some uncertainty about the high- 
est water marks at the upper end. The high water at 
Hartford is well determined. The range of discharge is a 
little greater than on the upper stretch, the low and high 
water volumes being increased by tributary contributions 
of small amount, while the volume diverted at Enfield dam 
is returned at Windsor Locks. 

In addition to the local characteristics of these three sec- 
tions, there are certain features of regimen common to them 
all. The river is subject to frequent fluctuations of 
volume and height. The more considerable fresh- 
ets are, as a rule, of short duration, and occur in 
the winter and early spring or in the late fall. The 
following table, compiled from data published in the War- 
ren-Ellis report, gives the number of days in a year on 
which the river at Hartford was above certain heights. It 
is the average of a record kept from 1871 to 1877 : — 

Table showing duration of certain stages of the Connec- 
ticut River above Hartford for seven years, 1871-1877 : — 



High and low 
water at Hart 
ford. 



Height above 


1871. 


1872. 


1873. 


1874. 


1875. 


1876. 


1877. 


Total 


Average for 7 


Bartford zero. 


Days. 


Days. 


Days. 


Days. 


Days. 


Days. 


Days. 


days. 


years, Days. 


1 foot 


365 


366 


363 


357 


365 


357 


365 


2538 


301.71 


2 feet 


295 


359 


319 


315 


331 


280 


329 


2228 


318.29 


3 feet 


214 


311 


260 


280 


261 


204 


213 


1743 


249.00 


4 feet 


105 


258 


240 


247 


198 


180 


168 


1456 


208.00 


5 feet 


129 


203 


203 


217 


138 


156 


122 


1168 


166.83 


6 feet 


106 


145 


159 


180 


107 


141 


96 


934 


133.43 


7 feet 


87 


94 


117 


152 


83 


126 


72 


731 


104.43 


8 feet 


63 


08 


93 


136 


00 


105 


64 


595 


85.00 


9 feet 


48 


54 


81 


113 


51 


92 


50 


489 


09.86 


10 feet 


43 


46 


67 


83 


46 


74 


32 


391 


55.86 


11 feet 


39 


42 


59 


62 


39 


60 


24 


325 


46.43 


12 feet 


32 


32 


65 


42 


33 


48 


17 


259 


37.00 


13 feet 


21 


22 


49 


31 


24 


41 


10 


198 


28.29 


14 feet 


11 


14 


37 


22 


15 


31 


7 


137 


19.57 


15 feet 


6 


10 


31 


10 


11 


22 


5 


95, 


13.57 


16 feet 


6 


6 


18 


6 


7 


16 


5 


64 


9.14 


17 feet 


4 


6 


13 


5 


5 


13 


5 


51 


7.29 


18 feet 


3 


5 


5 


o 


h 


9 


4 


32 


4.57 


19 feet 




2 


4 


3 




5 


3 


17 


2.43 


20 feet 






2 


3 




3 


3 


11 


1.57 


21 feet 








2 




2 


2 


6 


.86 


22 feet 








2 






2 


4 


.57 


23 feet 








2 






. . 


2 


.29 



24 



The average gauge profile for the same years is shown 
on the profile sheet accompanying this report, plate 7. The 
river is closed by ice from about December 1 to March 1. 
The freshet of greatest volume and most certain occurrence, 
on the whole, is caused by the melting of snows in the 
spring, and accompanies or immediately follows the disap- 
pearance of the ice. For the season of possible navigation 
it may be stated that freshets frequently recurring are of a 
magnitude to benefit navigation rather than to impede it. 
Except ice, floating obstructions are rare, though large 
quantities of timber have occasionally broken out of booms 
above Holyoke and gone over the dam and down the river. 
At no time does the river carry a large enough proportion 
of suspended sediment to make that a factor in the regi- 
men. The permanency of dredged cuts should not be less 
than at and below Hartford, but rather more, owing to 
greater flood velocities and more permanent thalweg. 

There are at present thirteen bridges over the river 
^"* between Hartford and Holyoke, as shown in the 

following list : — 

Approximate Height 

height above above 

lowest pool 

Bridges over Connecticut River, Hartford to Holyoke. water. levels. 

No. Ft. Ft. 

1. Highway bridge at Hartford (with draw openings 118 

feet, approved December 28, 1894) 

2. Kailroad bridge at Hartford (with draw) 

3. Suspension bridge at Windsor Locks (on site of old 

swing ferry) : In center 34 34 

At end piers 24 

4. Railroad bridge, iron, just below Kings Island 28 17.5 

5. Enjfield bridge (covered wooden truss, in a dilapi- 

dated state) 29 18.8 

6. Thompsonville, iron highway 24 23 

7. South End bridge, at Springfield, iron 25 24 

8. Highway bridge at Springfield (covered wooden truss) 23 22 

9. Railroad bridge at Springfield, iron 32 31 

10. North End bridge at Springfield, iron 25 24 

11. Chicopee bridge, highway, wooden truss 28 27 

12. Willimansett bridge, highway, iron 33 32 

13. Willimansett bridge, R. R., iron 35 34 

The highway bridge at Hartford (No. 1) is a temporary 
structure, and a plan for a permanent one to replace it 
was approved by the secretary of war under date of De- 
cember 28, 1894. This approved plan provides for a draw 



25 

of 118 feet clear opening, which is ample. The last two on 
the list (Nos. 12 and 13) need not be considered, as they are 
above the Holyoke terminus of the proposed channel. The 
remaining ten bridges (Nos. 2 to 11 both inclusive) have no 
draws which would permit traffic under the proposed proj- 
ect. As will be noted by inspection of the list, their clear 
heights range from 23 to 35 feet above low water, or 17^ to 
34 feet above the corresponding pool levels. 

The commercial importance of the Connecticut River in 
this part of its course must be arrived at by deduction from 
the statistics of commercial activity in the tributary dis- 
trict. Navigation is not now, and has not been for 
Commercial some years, on a competitive basis, and hence no 
Importance, commerce has sought this route. Only the cities 
and towns of some importance in the tributary district can 
be considered, because it is only for such that statistics are 
available. The benefits derived by the rural community 
from cheapened transportation and the volume of traffic 
which it would contribute to a water route are doubtless 
considerable, but undetermined and indeterminate. 

Under a recent act of the legislature of Massachusetts 
the board of harbor and land commissioners of that state 
have had under consideration the subject of opening the 
Connecticut River to Holyoke, and have devoted much 
attention to obtaining statistics of its commercial impor- 
tance. The figures used here are from papers prepared 
for the board and presented at a public hearing held in the 
city of Springfield on October 29, 1897. Some of the quanti- 
ties are from official sources, the census of the United 
States of 1890, and a census taken by the state of Massa- 
chusetts in 1895 ; the remainder are special returns for the 
year ending October 1, 1897, made out for presentation to 
the board. All figures of the latter class which are here 
used have been tested by statistical averages of recognized 
authority, and have been found substantially accurate. 

The section of country which would be benefited by a 
water terminus at Holyoke, with the rail feeders and dis- 
tributers which such a terminus will naturally command, 
is estimated to contain 350,000 inhabitants and prop- 
Population, gj.^y ^Q l-j^g ^alue of $249,000,000. The four cities of 

I'niS'ctufes Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield, and West Spring- 
manuiacmres. ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ggg ^^ ^^^^ 



26 

an aggregate population of 116,000, and to contain property 
valued at $106,000,000. From the same source is ascer- 
tained that the manufactories of the same four cities in 
1895 consumed materials valued at $24,500,000 and made 
$47,500,000 worth of product. The tonnage of the raw 
materials and manufactured articles is not reported. From 
a comparison of the ratio of value and tonnage of similar 
commerce at other points, the business of these manufac- 
tories may be conservatively estimated at 500,000 tons per 
annum. 

The most important single commodity from the freight 
payer's standpoint is coal, and for this the figures are quite 
complete. From reports made by brokers, dealers, and 
large consumers who buy direct from mines, it is 
stated that the annual coal consumption of the four 
cities is 447,000 tons. This does not include the coal con- 
sumed by the railroads, which is probably as much more. 

The aggregate freight tonnage of the four cities, as re- 
ported by the railroad agents, is 1,800,000 tons per annum. 
This does not include the coal, iron, or any other supplies 
for the railways themselves. Such an estimate is, 
Total reig -^^ ^^^q nature of things, incomplete, and more apt 
to err in defect than in excess. The aggregate ton- 
nage of the four cities may be taken at 2,000,000 tons per 
annum. Of this the coal and manufactories, as above 
noted, supply 1,400,000 tons, and the remainder, 600,000 tons, 
is none too large to include the food products, building 
materials, and supplies of every kind for an urban popula- 
tion of 116,000 thousand souls. Attention is again invited 
to the fact that all these figures relate to four places only, 
having an aggregate population of but one-third of the dis- 
trict supposed to be benefited by water carriage to Spring- 
field. 

The proportion of this traffic which would avail itself of 

water carriage is a matter of conjecture. It is within limits 

to say that 25 per cent., or 500,000 tons, will actually go by 

Prob hi water. But a more important fact is not conjectural, 

water ton- ^^^ that is that the freight rates on the entire traffic 

nage and will be substantially the same as though all of it 

reduction in went by water. It is from this point of view that 

freight. the real importance of the river must be judged. 

The total actual reduction of freights, directly or indirectly 



37 

accomplished, will nearly equal the cost of creating a suit- 
able navigation, and the saving on the traffic that will actu- 
ally use the improvement would pay a return on several 
times its cost. 

A military reason of some weight for making the pro- 
posed improvement is the provision of water carriage to the 
United States Arsenal at Springfield. 

By means of the canal of the Connecticut River, with the 
improved stretch below it and the Enfield pool above it, 
navigation between Holyoke and Hartford was carried on 
Former Navi- ^^ ^^^S ^s competitive rates could be made by ves- 
gation. sels small enough to pass the locks of the canal. 

That period practically terminated twenty years 
ago, although the canal has remained nominally open to 
navigation. Between the foot of the falls and Hartford 
some improvement was attempted and effected in the years 
1871-1873 by building wing dams at the upper shoals and by 
dredging. The small measure of benefit realized, as com- 
pared with the development and cost of the works con- 
structed, led to the conclusion that a radical open-river 
improvement of this stretch is impracticable. 

In 1872 a plan was submitted for passing the Enfield 
rapids by means of a lateral canal on the east bank, to be 
carried out in connection with the work then in progress on 
the river below the rapids. This plan was selected 
Pan of 872. fj,Qj^ several alternative schemes proposed and dis- 
cussed. Full information as to all of these may be found in 
the report of the chief of engineers, 1878, pages 278-290. 
In the following year, 1873, the great difficulty of improving 
the part of the river between Hartford and the rapids was 
recognized in the presentation of a revised project for con- 
tinuing the lateral canal to the mouth of Hockanum River, 
below Hartford. The proposed canal was given a width of 
150 feet and a depth of 10 feet in the trunk, with locks of 
200 feet length, 55 feet width, and 8 feet depth on the sills. 
The estimated cost at that time was $2,306,345. In 1880 the 
project was revised, and by reducing the width of trunk to 
120 feet, and taking a much lower unit cost of earth exca- 
vation, the estimate was reduced to $1,322,805. 

A careful study of the subject justifies the statement that 
this canal, though in some respects unsatisfactory, repre- 
sented the best solution then possible of the problem of pro- 



28 

viding a secure and commodious water route from Hartford 
to Holyoke. That a solution possessing all the advantages 
of that one, and obviating most of its defects, can now be 
offered is due solely to the advance in the science of river 
engineering between that date and this. 

The present transportation facilities of the tributary dis- 
trict are such that purely local water carriage can scarcely 
become competitive in any general sense. A water route, to 
make its influence felt as a factor in transportation, 
^e of Channel j^^jg^ permit extension to Springfield and Holyoke 
of the present traffic below Hartford. This criterion 
demands a depth of nine feet at extreme low water, a chan- 
nel width of not less than 150 feet at the same stage, and 
no obstacles to the passage of the largest vessels now 
navigating the lower Connecticut River. A local traffic 
will doubtless thrive on such a route, but will not justify its 
creation. 

In addition to the requirements of navigation, there are 
certain vested rights in the development of water power 
from the stream which deserve and demand consideration. 
They could be purchased and destroyed, it is true, 
ter Power ^^^ ^^^® destruction of cheap power is in itself inimi- 
cal to progress, and any plan which promotes the 
usefulness of the stream in one direction by destroying its 
value in another must be considered seriously defective. 
The full benefit of the river can be realized only by develop- 
ing and conserving every profitable use which can be made 
of it. For these reasons the complete preservation and 
protection of the existing power installations has been 
made an essential condition of any plan to be proposed. 
The present installations are at Holyoke and Windsor Locks. 
Their interests demand that the available power shall not 
be diminished either by lowering the head water, by raising 
the tail water, or reducing the quantity of water available. 
All these conditions and requirements combined point to 
a slack water improvement by means of locks and mov- 
able dams as the most promising solution of the problem. 
The details of such an improvement have been 

^!!^^^°^ '''°^' studied far enough, and only far enough, to dem- 
2ble D<iins o 7 ./ c3 7 

onstrate its feasibility, and to determine its effect 

upon the various interests involved. It is proposed to build 

three locks and movable dams, and to excavate where re- 



29 

quired to make a channel 150 feet wide and nine feet deep 
below pool level. The first or upper dam is provisionally 
located in the east branch of the river at King's island, the 
west branch to be closed by a fixed dam. This site is 20.85 
miles from Holyoke, and three and one-half miles below the 
present Enfield dam. The crest of this dam has an eleva- 
tion of thirty-nine feet above low water at Hartford, and 
the normal pool level maintained by it is the same as that of 
the present Enfield pool. The second dam is twenty-two 
miles from Holyoke, giving a length of pool of 1.15 miles 
and a pool level of twenty-six and one-half feet. The third 
dam is located just below the highway bridge at Hartford, 
giving a pool length of about thirteen miles and a normal 
pool level of eight feet. This pool connects with the chan- 
nel now maintained by dredging, from Hartford to Long 
Island Sound. On the maps and profile accompanying this 
report, the scheme proposed is shown with sufficient defi- 
niteness for present purposes. 

The effect of these dams upon the river itself may be 
briefly stated. The crest of the upper dam is very near ex- 
treme flood level. The survey indicates that a small area 
— a few acres at most — on and opposite King's is- 
on River and ^^^^ "^^^^ ^® permanently overflowed, and will re- 
Water Power, quire compensation for flowage. As the river rises, 
the dam will be gradually lowered so as to keep the 
pool level at the head of King's island constant for reasons 
to be given later. As this level is nearly that of highest 
water, it follows that the dam will rarely be entirely down, 
and that there will be lockage at this dam at all stages short 
of extreme flood. 

If Enfield dam be wholly removed, which may be done 
if desired, the extreme flood plane will be lowered, begin- 
ning at Willimansett and reaching a maximum of probably 
five feet at Thompsonville. A removal of part of Enfield 
dam will produce a proportional lowering of the planes of 
moderate and extreme fioods. The second dam will be so 
manipulated as to maintain a nearly constant pool level. 
It causes no fiowage, and as it will be entirely down at 
about 70,000 cubic feet per second of discharge, it exercises 
no influence at all on the higher stages, nor will the lock be 
used at such stages. The third dam must be manipulated 
to closely control the pool level, which is below the natural 



30 

bank, and hence causes no flowage. This dam will be 
entirely down when the level of natural flow is at its crest, 
which corresponds to about 30,000 cubic feet per second of 
discharge. The upper dam will have to be operated during 
suspension of navigation ; the other two will not. 

The second dam has no effect on the power plants at 
Holyoke or Windsor Locks, and need not be considered in 
that connection. The upper dam controls the tail water 
of the Holyoke mills and the head water of those at Wind- 
sor Locks, and its effect on each has been the subject of 
careful study. The effect on the tail water at Holyoke is 
due to the substitution of a movable for a fixed dam, pool- 
ing the water at the same level at least discharge. As the 
river rises, the depth on the fixed Enfield dam increases, 
and the level of the pool rises, raising by so much the 
tail water at Holyoke. With a movable dam, the effective 
crest will be depressed as the river rises, keeping the pool 
at normal level until the surface of natural flow surpasses 
that level. In this particular case, as has been seen, the 
control of the pool extends to a discharge of 70,000 cubic 
feet per second, or an elevation of surface at Thompson- 
ville of forty-six feet above the Hartford zero. Complete 
tables of the duration of different stages at Hartford for 
the seven years, 1871-77, are given in the Warren-Ellis 
report (Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1878, page 366 et 
passi7ii), and are consolidated in a table of this report. 
Averaging these, and assuming the same duration of simi- 
lar stages above Enfield dam, a simple computation will 
show that under the new conditions the water at Thompson- 
ville will probably be lower than now for the periods of each 
year and by the amounts set forth below : — 

Number of Days in Number of feet that water surface 

each year. at Thompsonville will be lower than now. 

117 1 

48 2 

29 3 

19 4 

17 5 

11 6 

241 

giving, after a proper correction for the steeper slope of 
higher stages has been applied, a total of 241 days in eack 
year during which the tail water at Holyoke will be 



31 

lowered from one to four feet. During the rest of the year 
it will be practically unaffected. 

The efifect on the head water of the Windsor Locks mills 
will next be considered. The canal of the Connecticut 
River Company now leaves the river above the Enfield 
dam. The normal pool level at this point is thirty- 
Benefits at nine feet above the Hartford zero. The proposed 
winasor plan carries this pool farther down stream, so that 

the canal under the new conditions can head a mile 
and a half farther down with the same pool level. The 
new entrance to the canal will be at the fixed dam at the 
head of King's island, 20.2 miles from Holyoke. The pres- 
ent level of the surface of the canal at this point is 37.82 
feet above the Hartford zero. The pool level here will be 
thirty -nine feet above the same datum, so that the water 
surface will be 1.18 feet higher than now. If the same flow 
be assumed, the water will be higher at the mills by the 
same amount ; or, if the gain be added to the slope, the other 
conditions remaining the same, the volume of water reach- 
ing the mills will be 50 per cent, greater than now. These 
two benefits may be combined as desired. If the Windsor 
Locks mills use no more water than now, they can have it 
at a higher elevation, or they can use 50 per cent, more 
than now without losing any head. The part of the canal 
thrown out is the most difficult to maintain, as the strain on 
its embankment during freshets is severe. At such times 
the actual entrance to the canal is near where it is now pro- 
posed to place it permanently, as stop-gates are placed there 
to raise the water behind the embankment for its protection. 
The third pool controls the tail water of these mills, and 
the net effect upon their available power results from a com- 
bination of the new head and tail water conditions. With 
the crest of the third dam at eight feet above datum, the 
tail water at the lower mill at Windsor Locks will be a few 
inches higher than now at extreme low water. But the 
effect on the mills above is less, and the difference for all 
disappears at about 8,000 cubic feet per second of discharge, 
except for the lowest, for which the difference disappears at 
about 20,000 cubic feet discharge. Assuming that the head 
water at the lowest mill remains the same and that the su- 
per-elevation at the head of the canal is used to increase the 
slope and discharge, a preliminary computation indicates 



32 

that the minimum actual head of water at the lowest miill 
will be a foot less than the present ; at the next mill, six 
inches less, and at the higher mills substantially unchanged. 
The discharge of water will be increased 50 per cent, and 
the aggregate power available from the present canal will 
be increased in nearly the same ratio. 

If, on the other hand, the volume of water used remain 
as now and the super-elevation at the head of the canal be 
transferred to the foot, the heads at all the mills except the 
lowest and at all stages will be greater than now. At the 
lowest mill the head will be unchanged at extreme low 
water and will be greater at higher stages. 

The proposed project will not reduce the quantity of 
water available for the present canal. The difference be- 
tween the minimum flow and the maximum prospective 
consumption of the Windsor Locks wheels is ample to sup- 
ply the lockage and leakage through the dam. The maxi- 
mum amount required for lockage is relatively small, not 
exceeding 200 cubic feet per second, and the dam can be 
made so tight as to reduce the leakage to a small volume. 

As already intimated, the proposed plan for making tlie 
river itself navigable avoids some objections to a lateral 
canal. It may be urged against lateral canals generally 
Obiections to *^^* they substitute at all seasons an artificial and 
lateral canal, restricted channel for a natural and less-restricted 
one. A canal trunk is much more diflScult to navi- 
gate than a cut of the same width made in the bed of a 
river. The possible speed is less in the canal trunk, and the 
consolidation of the banks to permit even moderate speeds is 
a matter of difficulty and cost, which is avoided in the case 
of a natural channel artificially deepened. In cold climates 
the canal is closed by ice sooner than the river and opens 
later. There is a probability of suspensions of navigation 
in a canal by accidents to the trunk, which is not the case 
in a natural channel. 

For this particular case, assuming, as has already been 
done, that the location proposed by General Ellis is the 
best for a lateral canal, it appears that the canal is prac- 
tically a through route from Hartford to Thompsonville. 
Its benefits between the points named are limited to a nar- 
row belt on one side of the river. From the district on the 
other bank, including the important town of Windsor Locks, 



33 

the canal is separated by the river itself. A river naviga- 
tion makes it possible to reach every point on both banks 
and serves the entire district to which the river is tributary. 
So far as the mechanical features of the dams are con- 
cerned, the proposed project is pronounced feasible in view 
of the fact that the Chanoine type of dam, a fully estab- 
Kindsofdams ^i^^®^ construction, can be used at all the sites, if 
proposed. found necessary. That type is the most costly and 
not the most suitable for the upper dam, which must 
be operated frequently to give the necessary control of the 
pool, and must be kept in operation while navigation is 
suspended. A dam of the bear-trap type is better adapted 
to the situation, as it is tighter and can be operated more 
rapidly and with less labor and without interference from 
ice or drift. It is thought better, moreover, to control the 
pool by a slight movement of a long crest than by throwing 
part of the dam entirely, leaving the rest up, as would have 
to be done if the Chanoine were adopted. 

At the second and third sites the objections to the wicket 
dam are less weighty, as these dams do not have to be oper- 
ated during the suspension of navigation, and the second 
has to be operated much less frequently than either of the 
others, since its pool does not require close control. For 
the first and second dams the conditions are favorable to the 
bear-trap, since the slope is steep at all stages, and by sup- 
plying the hydraulic chamber of the dam through a conduit 
extending a short distance up stream the initial head for 
starting the gate will never be wanting. Such is not the 
case at the third dam, and a bear trap, to work properly 
there, must be provided with extraneous power to start the 
gate up, a problem not as yet satisfactorily solved, though 
by no means improbable of solution. 

The ruling dimensions provisionally adopted as a basis of 

estimate are for locks 360 feet working length, forty-five feet 

width, and ten feet depth on the sills. The excavated 

channel has been reckoned at 150 feet bottom width, 

SsTnT °^ ^^^ "^^® ^®®* ^®®P ^®^^^ *^® P^^^ ^®^®^' *^^®^ ^^ 
depth of pools, horizontal, and at the crest of the dam. The greater 
depth on the sills is precautionary to permit the in- 
crease of channel depth to ten feet at the cost of excavation 
only, should the development of commerce demand such in- 
crease. The depth of ten feet is that provided in the river 
LofC. 



34 

below Hartford at the ordinary summer stage, the prevail- 
ing one during the season of navigation. The arrangement 
proposed secures the standard depth throughout the pools 
when the discharge of the river is a minimum, and the 
pools are practically level. At higher stages, when there is 
a slope in the pools, there will be greater depth in the upper 
part of each pool, but no more at the first and third dams, 
since it is a part of the project to keep the pools at these 
points at a constant level as long as possible. The part of 
each year when the pools cannot be so controlled is so short 
and so uncertain that no provision need be made for increased 
depth at such times, since it is not reasonable to suppose 
that any vessels would be prepared to take advantage of it. 
Hence the sills of the navigable passes can be kept up to a 
reference which will permit a draft of ten feet over them 
when the dams are down, provided a lower reference is not 
required to prevent engorgement. This question is one for 
detail study, rather than a general project. But it has been 
ascertained by an inquiry directed to that purpose that the 
sites which would probably be selected for the dams have 
sections of natural engorgement a short distance above or 
below them, so that a moderate retrenchment of area at the 
points selected will not raise the flood line. By holding the 
sills well up, the desired effective height of dam is secured 
without unusual dimensions in the movable weir. 

The sites of the dams as provisionally located have 
already been given. The lifts cannot be equally divided, 
as would seem the natural procedure, on account of the 
restrictions as to pool levels of Nos. 1 and 3 and the 
Lifts of irregular profile of the stream. The first pool is 
Locks. given the level which harmonizes the power inter- 

ests. The third pool is placed as low as possible, with the 
same object in view, and the middle pool is placed as high 
as possible, to minimize the rock excavation, which mostly 
occurs there. Under these restrictions and conditions, the 
levels and maximum lifts are as follows : — 

Feet. 

Level of first pool *39 

Lift of first lock 12% 

Level of second pool *2Q% 

Lift of second lock 18 J^ 

Level of third pool *8 

Lift of third lock 8 

*Above Hartford zero. 



35 

These lifts correspond to extreme low water. At all 
higher stages the lift at each lock will be less by the fall of 
the surface through the pool below it. For a discharge of 
40,000 cubic feet per second, for example, a vessel can pass 
from Hartford to the upper pool through a rise of water 
surface of twenty-eight and one-half feet, with two lock- 
ages aggregating sixteen and one-half feet, the third dam 
being down. 

Estimates. — The available data, though unusually elabo- 
rate and complete, considered as a general survey of the 
river, are still insufficient as a basis for detail estimates of 
. the cost of the structures proposed on the sites pro- 

, ^ . visionally selected. The locks in view are of the 

or Cost. "^ . , . 

usual type, with mitered gates maneuvered by hand ; 

but the fact that the locality supplies stone for good ma- 
sonry makes the character of construction to be adopted 
depend on local inquiry, and possibly on alternative bids. 
It is necessary to base preliminary estimates upon actual 
experience with similar constructions in other localities. 
Data obtained from trustworthy sources are used, and the 
figures given below are believed to be adequate and to be in 
excess rather than in defect of the probable actual cost. The 
lock sites will be in the river-bed, but a small plat of ground 
is required adjacent to each for use in construction and main- 
tenance and to extinguish riparian rights. For the same 
reasons a small plat is required adjacent to each abutment. 
There is very little flowage to be taken into consideration, 
and there is no apparent basis for any claim of any charac- 
ter arising from the changed regimen of the stream. So 
far as can be foreseen, every interest that is affected at all 
is benefited. 

Cost of three locks, at $100,000 $300,000 

Cost of 2,500 feet movable dam of bear trap-type, at .^200 

per foot '. 500,000 

Cost of fixed dam at King's island 50,000 

Cost of land, fiowage, buildings, and contingencies 225,000 

Total of locks and dams $1,075,000 

Excavation of sand and gravel, 600,000 cubic yards, at 25 

cents 150,000 

Excavation of rock, 200,000 cubic yards, at $8 600,000 

Total 11,825,000 



36 

If Chanoine dams be used, the cost of dams per foot 
may be taken at $300, and the grand total above will be in- 
creased to $2,075,000, which may be considered as the 
maximum cost of the project. In addition to the first cost 
as above set forth there would be involved, if this project 
were adopted, a cost of maintenance including the opera- 
tion of the locks and dams, the necessary repairs to the 
same, and the small amount of dredging possibly required 
to keep open the artificial cuts. This may be estimated ap- 
proximately at $8,000 per annum. 

In view of this estimate of cost and the commercial im- 
portance of the stream, as set forth above, I am of the 
opinion that the Connecticut River between Hartford and 
Holyoke is worthy of improvement by the general govern- 
ment in the manner and to the extent herein set forth. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

SMITH S. LEACH, 
Major Corps of Engineers. 
Brigadier General John M. Wilson, 

Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 

(Through the Division Engineer.) 



ENDORSEMENT OF COLONEL GILLESPIE. 

The local officer has carefully studied the natural con- 
ditions of the river and the necessities for its improvement, 
and his conclusions are clearly and concisely expressed. 

The plans appear to be feasible, and I respectfully state 
that, in my opinion, the Connecticut River between Hart- 
ford and Holyoke is worthy of improvement by the general 
government in the manner and to the extent set forth in 
Major Leach's report dated November 13, 1897. 

G. L. GILLESPIE, 
Colonel Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer. 



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